


Broken Bird

by Binary_Sunset



Series: Credence Heals [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Credence Barebone Heals, Credence really likes dragons, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Living in Newt Scamander's Suitcase, M/M, Then again who doesn't?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:50:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9685331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Binary_Sunset/pseuds/Binary_Sunset
Summary: On his trip back to London, Newt Scamander stumbles across an unexpected stowaway in his case.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A big ol' happy birthday to [Chris/Maeve](https://wackosayshello.tumblr.com), my... whatever the heck we are. Sorry about your car.
> 
> And, as usual, a shoutout to [the one true bae-ta](https://nightquills.tumblr.com) for putting up with my shit and helping me finish this on time.
> 
> Yeah, I actually made a deadline for once in my life. My fifth grade teacher would be so proud.

Newt was, thankfully, able to get through muggle customs without a hitch. Not too many questions, no escaped nifflers, and no muggles getting too curious about his case.

He breathed a great sigh of relief once he entered his cabin. After everything that had happened in New York, he was just thankful that he’d made it out of the city safe, _and_ he’d managed to release Frank safely into the wild. Regardless of the incidents with Credence and Grindelwald and the fact that he was doubtful MACUSA would be letting him into the country again, he still did everything he’d meant to.

Still, sometimes he wished he could’ve done more to help the young man, but President Picquery had made damn sure to get him back to England as soon as possible. If he was, miraculously, still alive, it would have to be Tina who helped him. Newt knew she was more than capable.

For now, he’d have to put all those things behind him. Tina would probably let him know if anything came up that required his assistance. And besides, he had a whole case full of beasts he needed to check up on. He’d skipped lunch to get through customs, so now was probably the best time to get everyone fed, including himself.

Newt knocked on the top of his case and opened it, slowly descending towards his cottage.  He started gathering a few things: raw meat for the nundu and the hippogriffs, some fertiliser for the bowtruckle tree. He was on his way to the storage closet to pick up some hay for the herbivores when something made him stop dead in his tracks.

As he used his wand to light the closet, he saw something on the floor. It was vaguely human shaped, and as he stepped closer, Newt could see it moving rhythmically. He knelt down, raising his wand to get a better look at the figure…

“Credence?” he asked.

The boy’s eyes snapped open. They caught Newt’s for a brief moment before he stiffened.

Newt had seen creatures, both magical and muggle, who’d endured more abuse in a lifetime than Newt would wish on his worst enemy. You had to get on their level, stay calm, and try your best not to be threatening. Though, the last option was easier said than done.

He crouched down, now on equal footing with the young man. “Credence, I’m not here to hurt you.”

Credence started to inch away from Newt, keeping his mouth shut.

Newt stayed still, knowing if he followed Credence, he’d be seen as a threat. “Are you hurt at all? Do you know where you are? How you got here?”

He shook his head slowly. A response, though not a particularly helpful one.

“You’re in my suitcase,” he explained, “I’ve used magic to make this place. You’re welcome to have your run of the cottage, but I have some creatures on the outside. They’re harmless, but you might scare them before you’re properly introduced.”

Credence stared at him, breathing deeply.

“This is a safe place,” Newt continued, “I’m on a steamship, on my way to London. I’m afraid it’s too late for you to go back to New York, if that’s what you wish. Once we get to London, however, I’d be more than happy to buy you a ticket back.”

The young man brought his knees to his chest, staring up at Newt with vacant, dark eyes.

“Do you understand what I said?”

He nodded and let out a quiet, “Yes, sir.”

Newt smiled. “Alright. If there’s anything I can help you with, please come find me. I’ll either be in the cottage or arriving there shortly.”

Another nod, then Credence went silent.

“Again, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

With that, Newt straightened and made his way out of the room. He could feel Credence’s eyes never leave his back as he left.

He'd foregone picking up the hay and had, instead, let the herbivores graze. He didn’t want to show up uninvited and scare Credence. It would have to be _his_ space, Newt figured, which might make things a bit inconvenient, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

He tried to expedite making his rounds, but that was never an easy thing. There was always someone who needed some extra attention or love. Today, the nundu seemed to be in a _mood_.

She’d growled at him the moment she saw him approach, pulling her ears back into an aggressive expression.

Newt crossed his arms and looked at her. “Mittens, what’s gotten into you?”

She hadn’t acted like this since Newt had first found her, barely larger than a housecat. He couldn’t tell whether her mother had abandoned her, or if she’d been killed by poachers, but he was sure she wasn’t coming back.

Rehabilitating Mittens was one of the most difficult things Newt had ever done. She was easily one of the most dangerous creatures he’d rescued, as well as the most traumatised.

He ripped a small scrap of meat off the hunk in his bag, knelt down to her level, and held it out to her. “Come on, girl, there’s nothing to be scared of. It’s just me.”

She inched towards him, growling low in her throat.

“That’s it, girl.”

The leopard-creature lapped the meat up with its massive, rough tongue, giving little kittenish licks to Newt’s fingers.

He smiled and gently scratched behind her ear. “See? It’s still me. Nothing to be afraid of.”

As she purred, he pulled the rest of the meat out from his bag and placed it on the ground in front of her.

Why had she initially been so afraid of him? This was really no different from any other feeding trip.

Except, of course, for Credence.

Were nundus especially sensitive to dark magic? Or perhaps it was just nothing. Mittens was always especially moody when they were on a boat, for whatever reason.

Still, it was worth putting to paper. He pulled a notebook and a wax pencil from his bag and jotted down a brief description of the encounter on his way back to the cottage.

The very first thing he did was go directly back to the closet and knock on the door.

“Credence, I just thought I’d let you know that I’ve returned to the cottage and I’m going to be preparing some dinner. You’re welcome to join me, if you’re hungry or just want some company. If you don’t, I understand. I’ll leave you some leftovers.”

He didn’t get an answer, but he really wasn’t expecting one. Today had probably been a lot for Credence, and he probably needed some space. Newt knew it was probably best to let him decide when to come out of his own accord.

He lit the gas stove and took two frozen portions of chicken soup from the icebox and put them both in a medium saucepan. He liked to make it in large batches and then freeze it to keep some on hand during his longer journeys. While those started to heat up, he wasted no time chopping some carrots and onions into small, bite sized pieces and putting them in the pot.

Newt left the whole thing to simmer as he doodled idly in his notebook, only stopping to stir it occasionally. Once the soup was sufficiently heated, Newt grabbed a bowl and scooped himself out a portion. He left the rest on low heat so he could keep it warm for Credence.

He ate in relative silence, trying to keep a relatively nonthreatening posture in case the young man decided to make an appearance.

Despite this, he never showed. Newt gave him an extra half hour once he'd finished. Still nothing.

He should've been expecting this, honestly. Credence was probably still acclimating to his surroundings, but why did it make him feel so terrible?

He poured the remainder of the soup into a separate bowl and placed it on a tray, along with a chipped glass of water and a spoon.

Newt walked over to the storage closet door and placed it on front of it. He knocked on it once more. “Credence, I've left you some dinner. I'm going to be exiting the case to get some sleep now. I'll be back in the morning. If you need anything, please let me know.”

Silence again. Newt felt his stomach shift. There was a part of him that wanted Credence to accept him with open arms, but he knew it would be a while before the young man felt comfortable talking to him.

Newt took the ladder back up to his room, changed into his night clothes, and fell asleep once more.

 

•••

 

He woke up the next morning, a bit early, but it just meant he'd have more time to prepare breakfast and tea before feeding the creatures. 

Newt stretched and threw on a new set of clothes, before opening up his case. He heard a clatter of cabinets opening and shutting. It was either Credence or the Niffler, he figured, and Bandit probably would've slipped out by now.

As he descended down the ladder, his suspicions were confirmed. The dishes from last night were piled into the sink, and Credence was rifling through the cabinets, having yet to notice Newt’s arrival.

“Is there something I can help you find?”

The young man froze for a moment, then slowly looked over towards Newt. His form was tense and he looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a muggle car. After a moment of this, as if realising that Newt made no motion to harm him, Credence started to speak. “I… I wanted to clean out the d-dishes that you left me, but I couldn't find the soap…”

Newt smiled. “Oh, is that all?” He fingered his wand in his jacket pocket. “I'm afraid I don't have any soap. I find that magic helps everything go along much quicker.” He stepped forward, turning towards the sink. He pulled out his wand and floated the dishes, cleaning them as he put them away. Once all this was over with, he turned back to Credence.

That… didn't seem to have helped. The young man was gripping the counter so hard his knuckles turned white, and the expression on his face was one of pure terror. “Witchcraft!”

Newt crouched down to meet his eyes. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sure this is a lot to take in.”

“Who _are_ you?” he muttered, barely audible.

“What do you remember from yesterday? In the subway, I mean.” Newt asked back. “I'd hate to answer a question with a question, but it requires a bit of context.”

“I… I don't really recall.” He closed his eyes, suddenly determined to remember. “I'd… I'd done the thing I'm not supposed to. I don't know what you'd call it, but it's… power and darkness and all sorts of bad things. And once I’d gone back to normal I was in the subway station. Mister Graves was there, talking to me. And there was someone else. An Englishman carrying a suitcase.” Credence paused. “That was you, wasn't it?”

Newt nodded. “Yes. That was me do you remember anything else?”

“I… I did the thing again. And then there was a bright light. And I fled. And then I woke up here, with you shining a light in my face. That's all I remember. I'm sorry.”

“Don't be, that was everything I needed.” He smiled. “My name is Newt Scamander. I'm a magizoologist, which means that I study magical creatures. Dragons, winged lions, that sort of thing.” None of which he had in his case, but he figured those would be best known by muggles.

Credence shook his head. “No, that's fairy tales. Children’s stories. Not… not a real _job_.”

He sounded just like Newt’s parents. “I can assure you, magical creatures are very real. Would you like to meet one?”

Credence’s eyes widened. “You have dragons? Here? That's impossible!”

Newt laughed. “Not dragons, no. Far too dangerous to be bringing around. But I have other things that are a bit nicer.”

The young man nodded. “If it's not too much trouble…”

“It's no trouble at all, I promise.” Newt smiled. “I need to feed everyone, anyway.”

Newt started to mentally take stock of his creatures. The occamys weren't exactly the most cuddly of creatures, so they were out. The Niffler would probably just take off up the ladder as soon as it go the chance. Nundu, graphorm, and erumpent were all far too large and intimidating…

He knew the perfect candidate.

Once he had finished making his rounds, he was back at the cottage. He knocked on the door. “Credence, if you'd still like to meet one of my creatures, you can come out.”

The young man opened the door a crack. “You told me I shouldn't go outside.”

“I meant that you shouldn't go out unaccompanied before you met everyone. Now _I’m_ accompanying you, and you're meeting someone,” Newt explained. “If you'd like to save this for another day--”

He straightened suddenly. “No, no, sir! I'd like to meet your creatures!”

Newt smiled. It wasn't every day he met someone who appreciated his interests. “Alright, alright, just come on out, then, I'll show you the way.”

Credence tentatively stepped out of the cottage, as if he was still expecting to be punished at any moment. When that never came, he took another step towards Newt.

“It's just down this path.” Newt gestured towards a wide, gravel path that lead visible up to a building.

“It looks like a stable,” Credence commented.

“It is, but not for horses.” Newt continued up the path. “It's for hippogriffs, sort of a horse/bird hybrid. Big enough to ride on, if they like you.”

“ _If_ they like you?”

“They're proud creatures, and a bit temperamental.” He noticed Credence’s face fall at that. “Don't worry, I have a really nice one.”

They approached the fenced-in run around the stables. So far, it seemed as though his hippogriff was busy eating her breakfast inside the stables. He quickly turned to Credence. “Let me show you how to greet a hippogriff first. Most of them get quite cranky if you don't do it properly, so you have to be prepared.”

Credence nodded slowly, perhaps a bit unsure.

Newt was sure once he’d met her, he'd be a bit less nervous.

Once he’s hopped the fence, he walked over towards the stable. “Come on out, Pippa!”

The massive creature exited its stall, walking over towards Newt.

He heard Credence gasp. She was a beautiful creature, Newt knew, about fifteen hands high and covered in a glossy black coat, marred only by a faint, pinkish scar along her left side. Her beak, hooves, and feet were black as well, giving her the appearance of a shadow.

“Now, what you want to do, and most magic folk don't even know this, is you want to maintain eye contact and give them a nice low bow.”  Newt demonstrated, his eyes never leaving the hippogriff’s. “And if they bow back, you can straighten yourself out and let them come over. Let _them_ make the first move.”

As if on cue, the hippogriff bent at its front knees and dipped its head in a sort-of-bow to match Newt’s. Then, as he straightened, it ran forward and nudged its head against Newt’s chest.

It probably looked like it should have hurt, but Newt just buried his hands in her feathers and laughed. “That's my girl.”

Newt turned to Credence. “This is Pippa. She was a reject from my mother’s breeding projects. And she’s very nice.”

The hippogriff let out a quiet peep and looked over towards the young man, before trotting over to the fence.

Newt smiled. “Go on, you can touch her, if you’d like. It seems she’s taken a liking to you.”

Credence reached a hand out slowly towards the hippogriff. Pippa, apparently bored of this exercise, gently brought her head to the palm of his hand. Shocked, he pulled back.

Newt walked over and gently scratched at the beast’s head. “Don’t worry about her, she wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“I know that, sir,” Credence explained, not looking him in the eye.

Newt sighed. “You know, it’s okay if she makes you nervous or scared. We can leave if you want. You just have to let me know, okay?”

Credence nodded slowly. “I’d… like to leave, sir.” His voice was quiet, unsure if he should be saying this or not.

The older man hopped the fence, returning to Credence’s side. “Alright. It’s probably about time for tea, anyway. 

It may have been too much to introduce Credence to Pippa this early on. Newt had never had someone who’d seemed so excited about his creatures. Perhaps she was too large and scary, despite her gentle demeanour, or perhaps this was all just too much for Credence to take in at the moment.

Pippa twittered as the two left down the path.

As they approached the cottage, Newt looked towards Credence. He was keeping his distance, head trained towards the ground.

He was so _quiet_. Newt knew, consciously, of the things Credence had seen, but one look at him would only find this quiet boy, perhaps a bit awkward, but no one would ever guess the darkness he’d been battling inside him.

There was a part of Newt that just really wanted to wrap him up in blankets and brew him a cup of tea. Perhaps it wouldn’t help things in the long run, but if it would help Credence feel safer around him, it would be worth it.

Fancy that, someone being afraid of him. Normally, people just laughed at him or thought him eccentric.

“How do you take your tea?” he asked, finally, as the cottage was in sight.

“I… don’t, sir. I wasn’t allowed.”

Newt felt his mouth fell open in bewilderment. “You weren’t allowed _tea_ ? Now, that’s just about a _crime_ where I come from! I’ll put on a pot for us and brew you something nice.”

Credence stopped in his tracks. “You’d really do that for me?”

“Of course. You’re my guest.” Newt smiled at him, then opened the door to his cottage. “Feel free to get comfortable. The water usually takes a while to start boiling. Do you want lunch?”

“I’d like some food, sir.”

Newt smiled. “Alright, grab a seat at the table and I’ll whip us up something.” He looked through the icebox, before turning back to Credence. “Is there anything you can’t eat? Or don’t like?”

The young man thought for a moment, then looked over at Newt. “I… can’t think of anything, sir.”

“You don’t have to call me ‘sir’. Newt is perfectly fine.” He pulled a pot from the cabinet and poured a can of baked beans inside. He quickly lit the stove with his wand, attempting to use some sort of sleight of hand to hide it from Credence. No use scaring the boy more than he already had. “Does beans on toast sound good?”

“That sounds fine s-- uh, Newt.”

Newt smiled and stirred the beans, then loaded some bread into a toaster. “This may take a bit. I'll throw some water on.” He grabbed a kettle and filled it up before adding it to the stove. Normally, he’d probably have been able to boil it on the spot, but that didn't seem particularly wise with Credence around.

He used the few moments before the kettle heated up to grab a couple mugs and tea bags and put them on the counter. He then grabbed a bowl of sugar and a carton of cream and placed it on the table.

As soon as he was done, the kettle wailed and Credence tensed up.

“Ah, sorry!” Newt took the kettle off the heat and poured the hot water over the tea bag. “I probably should’ve warned you about that.” He spooned a couple scoops of sugar into the mug, then passed the bowl to Credence. “You might want to let it cool down and taste it first before you add any. A little bit can go a long way.” He removed the tea bag and stirred the sugar into the hot tea.

Credence gripped the mug and brought it to his chest. “It’s still hot.”

“Blow on it a bit,” Newt suggested, “It’ll help.”

The young man obliged, gently blowing the steam away from him. He held the cup to his lips and took a sip. “I like it.”

Newt smiled. “I’m glad. This is a favourite blend of mine. Earl Grey.”

Credence took another sip, then looked towards Newt expectantly, as if willing him to start the conversation.

Newt took another sip. He figured he’d have to bring it up sooner or later, but was it a good time? He took a breath. “Credence, do you think you’re ready to talk about what happened in the subway?”

Credence looked into his tea, suddenly avoiding Newt’s gaze. “Do you know what’s wrong with me? Why I’m like this?”

Newt bit his lip. “Credence, there’s nothing wrong with you.”

The young man’s head snapped up, eyes wide, like he both couldn’t believe what was being said and was afraid of it. “What do you mean?”

He set his teacup down. “Inherently speaking, at least. You’re an obscurial.”

Credence recoiled. “A what?”

“Obscurial,” Newt repeated. “When a wizard is taught from a young age to fear and hate their powers, a dark parasite forms inside of them. A sort of… amalgam of their repressed magic, which can spring forth and consume their physical form. That’s called an obscurus. That’s what happened to you in the subway, when you lost your mind and your body.”

“But… I have no magic. Mister Graves said--”

“Graves wasn’t expecting you to be an obscurial. They… tend not to live very long. Usually not past ten. It’s difficult, for a child to contain so much darkness.” _I’ve no idea how you did it_ , was left unsaid.

“I’m twenty.”

Newt nodded. “I know. I have no idea how you’ve done it, but you’re alive. You’ve even survived a few shifts, which I’ve never seen before. Granted, I’ve only ever met one other obscurial. They’re a rare case now, only in very extreme circumstances.” He paused, waving his hand through the air like he was batting his flitting thoughts away. “Look, what I’m trying to say is, there’s nothing wrong with you. There’s everything wrong with what’s been done to you. And I think… I think now that you’re away from New York, you can start a new life and start to heal. I’ve never known an obscurial to be rehabilitated, but I’ve also never known one who’s survived as long as you have.”

“You’re saying I could die at any moment.”

“I’m saying,” Newt corrected with a smile, “That there’s a chance you don’t have to. I’ve tried assisting obscurials with magic, but… it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. I’m thinking, if muggles put you into this situation, then maybe we need a more muggle-like solution.”

Credence looked back at him, eyes wide. “Wh-what does that mean?”

“Muggles are non-magical people. So basically, I’m not going to be using any magic on you directly.” He put his fingers to his lips in thought. “And if making you think your magic is a terrible thing is what made you develop the obscurus in the first place, then maybe, if you’re able to accept your magic as a part of you, you’d be able to make it go away. Or at least stop it from killing you. I’m not going to lie, I’m not completely sure.”

The toaster let out a _ding_. Newt went to go retrieve the freshly-toasted bread, which he then poured the baked beans on top of. He put one plate in front of Credence, who side-eyed him the entire time. 

“Why are you doing all this to help me? I’m-- I’m nothing.”

Newt placed the plate on his own side of the table, before looking back at his companion. There was something so deeply _wrong_ about that sentiment. Credence was fine. A bit quiet and a bit intense at times, but there was no reason why Newt _shouldn’t_ want to help him. And besides all the information he could gather from Credence, he was just a misunderstood kid. He’d had no Hogwarts to go to, no one to read him _Tales of Beedle the Bard_ or give him plush kneazles to cuddle with. Credence had grown up, unloved, abused, and afraid of himself, and no one deserved that. Not even Gellert Grindelwald himself.

Newt steeled his resolve, then met Credence’s eyes. “Because you know what? It’s about damn time someone did.”

The young man tensed, like he was preparing to be struck. When no blow came, he took a meek sip from his tea and refused to look in Newt’s direction.

They ate in silence for the rest of the night. Newt cleaned the dishes by hand.

 

**•••**

 

Newt came down to find the kitchen empty the next morning. He didn’t really think twice about it. There wasn’t any reason to worry. It was early, and he figured Credence was probably sleeping somewhere, maybe Newt’s hammock or in the storage closet.

He made his rounds quietly, trying his best not to wake Credence. Though, as he grabbed a bale of hay from the closet, he noticed Credence to be missing. Must've found the bedroom, then.

Newt returned to the cottage and started to make some breakfast for himself and Credence. It wasn’t anything too special, scrambled eggs and toast, but it would probably be much better than anything the ship was serving. Once everything was cooked, Newt made his way around the cottage, hoping to find the young man somewhere. He checked just about every other room in the house: bedroom, bathroom, the closets attached to each, but Credence was nowhere to be found.

Alright, _now_ there was cause for worry. Had he gotten into the sanctuary? Newt had warned him against it, but there was no accounting for free will…

The ship. Credence must have exited the case and gone to explore it. Was he alright? Why hadn’t he told Newt where he was going, or left a note, or _something_?

He rushed out of the case, leaving his breakfast behind, grabbed his coat from his room, and sprinted out to the deck of the ship.

It was mostly empty in the early morning glow. The sky was a dusky blue above the waves, and the sun was barely up.

Newt wandered around the deck, keeping his pace brisk but not breaking out into a full run. The last thing he wanted to do was call too much attention to himself. He was worried for Credence, but getting muggles involved might only make things worse.

He found the young man on the other side of the ship, hands gripping the railing tight as he looked out into the sea. His face was slightly red from being battered by the cold wind, as were his knuckles. He’d clearly been here a while.

Newt walked up to Credence, standing by his side. “Needed some air?”

He stiffened, like he was expecting to be struck.

Newt’s face fell. “Credence, I’m not upset. I was just worried because I didn’t know where you were.” For all intents and purposes, he really shouldn’t have been as concerned as he was. Credence was, essentially, a stranger to him, but still…

He needed someone to show him that the world was not all bad, that not everyone was going to punish him so cruelly.

“You said not exit the cottage… I didn’t mean to, but I was getting really uncomfortable…”

Newt smiled. “You don’t have to apologise. I just didn’t want you out with the beasts alone. They’re not dangerous, but if you invade their space, some of them get a bit territorial.” He turned his head and looked out to the sea. “Are you cold?”

Credence stiffened again. “Excuse me?”

“It’s cold out here.” Newt shed his jacket off of his shoulders and held it out. “Do you want this? I’ll probably get back to the case, so it’s nothing to worry about. There’s breakfast waiting for you too, though it might be a bit cold.” He draped it over Credence’s shoulders, the coat just barely clinging onto his slim frame.

That seemed to help him relax a bit. His body seemed a bit less tense as he welcomed the weight of the jacket. He looked back towards Newt, bewildered, as if there was a part of him that still couldn’t believe someone was showing him such a simple kindness.

“Thank you, Mister Scamander.”

Newt still didn’t like Credence calling him that. It felt too formal and too serious. Very unlike himself. But he figured he should probably breach the subject later. The last thing he wanted was Credence thinking he was upset with him. “Don’t think anything of it.” He dug into his pocket and then held his room key out to the other man. “Take this too. I’m probably going to lock the room once I get back. Feel free to have your run of the place for as long as you like. If anyone asks, you’re my nephew, and I’m taking you back to London with me for school.”

The young man’s face lit up for a moment, then he looked at Newt, wary. He could only wonder what was going on in Credence’s head. “Thank you.” He gripped the key and put it in his pocket.

“I’m just going to ask that you leave me a note next time you go out. I wasn’t upset, but I was a bit worried for you. And if you feel uncomfortable again, please tell me so we can talk about it.”

He nodded. “I can do that.”

“Alright. I’ll be in the case if you need anything.” Newt adjusted the coat on Credence’s shoulders one last time before walking back to his room and into the case.

Credence was back about half an hour later, descending down the ladder with the coat doubled over his arm. Newt was in the kitchen, sitting at the table and working on the draft of his book.

He looked up at the younger man with a smile on his face. “Have fun up there?”

Credence nodded.

Newt gave him a moment, but he didn’t say anything more. “Do you want something to eat? I still have the breakfast I made you.”

“I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

Newt pulled the plate out from the icebox and placed it in front of him. “It might be a bit c--”

It didn’t seem to matter to Credence. He was already starting to dig into the scrambled eggs.

Newt smiled to himself as he continued to work on his draft. While it was a bit depressing to know that this was probably one of the first meals he’d had in a while, Newt took a bit of comfort in knowing that Credence was out of there now. Whether he chose to stay with him or if they parted ways in London, he would be in a much better place there than he had been in New York.

Though, for some reason, the idea of Credence leaving left a dull ache in his chest.

 

•••

 

The next day was the last day of the voyage. By the time Newt had awoken, he’d only had a few hours before they docked in London.

He’d let Credence know this when they had breakfast together. Newt had made more eggs and toast for him, and they were eating in the kitchen together.

“We should be docking at around 6 PM. Do you think you’ll be staying in London?” he asked.

Credence looked up at Newt. “I’m not sure. I’ve never been to London. This is actually the first time I’ve left New York.”

 Newt smiled. “You’d love it, trust me. There’s some really incredible wizarding sites I think you’d love to see.”

“Are there… witchcraft businesses?” The young man looked at him, puzzled.

He laughed. “Of course there are! Potion stores, book stores, candy stores, just about anything you could imagine. Hidden from muggles, of course, can’t break the Statute of Secrecy, which is why you’ve probably never seen magic before, by the way. But they’re certainly around, if you know where to look. If you’d like, I could show you around a bit. You’re not obligated to stay with me afterwards, of course.”

Credence looked down at his food, pushing it around instead of eating it.

The ensuing silence hung in the air. Newt put his dishes in the sink.

“Do you want to learn a bit of magic while we’re still here? I could probably teach you a few basic spells. I might still have my old school books too, if you’d like to take a look at those.”

Credence didn’t look at him, still not reacting.

He stepped over to the younger man. “What’s on your mind? I’m not going to know if you don’t talk to me.”

“Why do you want to do this?” he asked quietly.

“I think it’d be good for you, to learn a bit of magic. It can be a bit scary, finding out you have it and not really being able to control your gifts. I’m not very good, and I don’t think I’m the best teacher, but I’m here, and I want to help you. And, of course, there’s the whole business with your obscurus. But I think the more you’re able to control your magic, the less hold it might have on you.”

Credence narrowed his eyes. “You’re asking me to sin.”

Newt crossed his arms. “By your logic, I’ve been sinning my entire adult life. Despite what you’ve been taught, there’s nothing wrong with your powers. And I want to show you that. I won’t be upset if you say ‘no’, but I think it could only help.”

Credence continued to avoid his gaze, remaining silent.

“I could bring out the books. You don’t have to read them, but they’ll be available to you while I’m caring for the beasts. Would that be alright?”

He nodded, the gesture was shallow and barely there, but Newt saw it.

“I’ll go get them for you. I know that this is really uncomfortable for you, and it goes against everything you know, but I want to show you that you have nothing to fear.” Newt got up and picked _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One_ from the bookshelf in his bedroom. He’d kept a few of his school books, since he found himself having to look up spells he rarely used more often than not. There were a few others, but he figured the spellbook was probably best, since he was only ever really good at Charms and Care of Magical Creatures, and there was no way he was exposing Credence to _The Monster Book of Monsters_. If anything, that would have made him more afraid.

He set the old, worn copy on the table. “Feel free to give that a look-through. It’s from my first year. Every wizard in Britain knows these spells. Basic things like lighting the tip of your wand or locking things with magic. I use most of these spells fairly regularly, actually.”

Credence looked at him, fear in his eyes, and muttered “...thank you…”.

“Again, you don’t _have_ to read it. But it’s there, if you’d like to. You can also help yourself to any of the books in my bedroom. Not sure I have much light reading material, though, I’m afraid.”

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“Like I said, I want to help.”

Newt gathered his things and made his way out to feed his beasts.

 

•••

 

By the time he’d come back, Credence was nose deep in the old spellbook.

“Find anything interesting?” Newt asked.

Credence straightened and looked at him, fear written all over his features. Then, his whole body relaxed. “This is all so…” He paused. “I mean, I was expecting… Something more… Evil, I guess.”

“Of course there wouldn’t be anything evil in that book. These are the spells we teach to children.”

Credence flipped through it. “And none of these will… summon demons or… damn me to Hell?”

Newt shrugged. “Not as far as I know. I’m not even sure I’ve _heard_ of a wizard meeting a demon. And I feel like eternal damnation is a pretty big price to pay for turning things a bit spongy.”

He opened it up to the front cover. “I was wondering… what’s a Hufflepuff?” Credence pointed to the inside cover. “You wrote it right here, under your name.”

“Oh, did I?” Newt chuckled. “Hufflepuff is one of the houses at Hogwarts, which is where I went to school to learn magic. They split the students up into four houses based on their personality traits. Wise Ravenclaws, ambitious Slytherins, brave Gryffindors, and loyal Hufflepuffs.” He lowered his voice and whispered conspiratorially. “We’re the best house, you know. Our dorms are right next to the kitchen.”

Credence smiled at that, and Newt felt like a ray of sunshine had just entered his small cottage. “Do you think I’d be in Hufflepuff?”

“I’m no Sorting Hat, but we’d be honoured to have you in my house.”

They looked at each other for a moment, sharing a comfortable silence.

“If you’d like, I could lend you my wand and you could practice a few spells. It might resist you a bit, but I think these spells are basic enough that it won’t be too much of a problem. Let’s stick to lumos, though. The others might… backfire a bit poorly.”

Credence nodded slowly. “I think… If it’s really going to be okay…”

“If anything goes wrong, I can fix it. Don’t worry about a thing.” He took his wand out from his jacket pocket and handed it to Credence. “You’re just going to want to wave it in a loop and say ‘lumos’, and the tip should light up. It’s simple stuff, but don’t be discouraged if you can’t get it right the first few times.”

Credence closed his eyes and took a breath before doing as Newt said. 

And then there was a loud _pop_ and a smell of smoke, and Newt had to shield his eyes as splinters of wood were flying in his direction.

He looked up once they’d ceased, to find Credence staring wide-eyed at his empty hand.

“Mister Scamander, I--”

His eyes rolled back into his head and his body vanished into a swirling cloud of darkness.

Newt swore under his breath as the obscurus barrelled through the door and out of sight.

He took a breath and straightened. First things first, his wand.

Perhaps to another wizard, this might have been a bit more devastating, but Newt Scamander’s wand had been blown to bits several times in the past. Working with dragons was rarely ever safe, after all. One doesn’t commit one’s life to learning about magical creatures without picking up a fair bit of wand repair in the process.

With a bit of hand-waving, Newt was able to assemble the splinters from the far corners of the room and reconstruct his wand into the palm of his hand.

Next, Credence.

His obscurus had left quite the trail of destruction, so it wasn’t to difficult to find him. The door had been blown off its hinges, and there was a deep gash in the ground where the thing had flown.

Newt ran down the path, trying to take note of the damage in his haste. The good thing was, it seemed none of his creatures were hurt. A bit cranky, in the erumpent’s case, but wholly unharmed.

The path had run into the frozen tundra where Newt had kept the Sudanese girl’s obscurus before MACUSA had confiscated it, then stopped abruptly. Mittens was cowering behind a nearby rock, growling the the direction of a nearby tree, its branches laden with snow.

“Silly girl, what’s got you in a tizzy?” he asked the nundu.

He looked up and squinted. There, among the frozen branches, was Credence, legs crossed and curled in on himself. Whether for warmth or in shame, Newt couldn’t tell.

He walked up to the tree, then looked up at the young man. “Credence?”

The obscurial peaked his head up from where he was hiding it. His eyes were red-rimmed, probably from crying, and he wiped them off on the sleeve of his jacket. “I… I’m sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it, Credence, you haven’t done anything wrong.” He pulled his wand out from his pocket. “Look, see? Good as new. I wasn’t expecting it to splinter out like that, but accidents happen.”

“But I… your creatures… and your case…”

Newt chuckled and gestured around him. “This? Oh, this is nothing. Cleaning this up would take half an hour at most. I’m a wizard, remember?” He took another step towards the base of the tree. “Can I come up? You look like you need someone.”

Credence nodded, a slow shallow gesture, but it was all Newt needed.

He gripped his wand between his teeth and scaled the branches, before finding a perch right by Credence’s side. With his hands now free, he stuck his wand back in his jacket pocket.

He could feel the younger man shaking. It seemed like his crying had stopped, which was probably a good sign.

Newt looked at Credence and smiled. “You know, that probably wasn’t the worst thing to happen to my wand. This is actually my second one. The first one got stepped on by a centaur in the forbidden forest back when I was in my third year at Hogwarts.”

Credence looked over at him, staring blankly.

“After that I figured, you know, chasing magical creatures isn’t exactly the safest work for a wand, so I’ve learned quite a bit of magic. This wand… Oh, what _has_ it been through..?” He paused for a moment. “Well, I think most recently up until today, it was scorched by a Catalonian fireball I was training during the Great War. She was one of the nastiest dragons I ever met.”

“You… tamed dragons?” Credence asked. “Like Saint Peter?”

“Well, I’d like to think I was a fair bit nicer to them than Saint Peter was, and there weren’t any damsels involved, but I’ve tamed quite a few dragons. Big green ones, ones with iron skin, ones with no wings and big, fluffy manes. They’re incredible creatures. Not the brightest, mind you, but fierce and beautiful nonetheless.”

Credence started to straighten. He wiped his eyes one more time before looking over towards Newt. “I know you said you didn’t have dragons here, but do you think I could… see one. Maybe. I know they’re dangerous but… You read about them in story books and I… Now that they’re real I think I’d like to see one.”

“I don’t know where we could safely view any dragons, but there’s a store in Diagon Alley that sells enchanted dragon figurines, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Some of them even breathe fire on command. Though, if I ever need to rehabilitate one, you could definitely visit it. Wizards use dragons for all sorts of potions and such, so they’re trapped pretty often. And sometimes the poachers will take the claw or eye they need and then just leave the rest of the dragon! So, if I come across any like that, sometimes they’ll end up here. But for the most part, I try to leave dragons alone. No point in troubling them unnecessarily.”

Though, if Newt was being honest with himself, Credence would probably be much more of a danger to the dragon than the other way around. It was best to play it safe until he was feeling a bit more stable.

“I think I’d like one. Though I… wouldn’t have anywhere to put it…”

Newt laughed. “Credence, it’s enchanted. It moves and roars just like a real dragon. It’d probably sit on your shoulder and let you feed it eggs, if it wanted to.”

Credence’s face lit up. “You can… buy tiny dragons!?”

“Welcome to the Wizarding World, Credence Barebone.”

 

**•••**

 

The ship docked in London about half an hour later. Newt spent about ten minutes packing up everything and getting his papers in order. He’d asked Credence to stay in the case, since the man didn’t have any papers to let him exit or enter the country, and muggle customs were really just a tremendous bother.

Newt had gotten through all the required bag checks and passport checks and finally stepped foot back onto English soil for the first time in three years.

Still, knowing Credence was in the case, he wasted no time walking into the nearest alleyway and opening up the case.

The young man climbed out of it, never taking his eyes off of Newt’s.

He gave Credence a bright smile. “Welcome to London. Like I promised, you can… probably leave now, if you’d like. I don’t want to make you feel like you have to stay…”

Suddenly, Credence wrapped his arms around Newt’s shoulders and the man’s entire body weight was on him. He muttered something, barely audible over the ambient noise of the city.

“I don’t think I want to, Mister Scamander.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey kiddos I have a [tumblr](https://www.binary-suunset.tumblr.com) where I mostly blog about Star Wars, but post some Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter content when it graces my dash.
> 
> EDIT: This bitch takes [ commissions](https://binary-suunset.tumblr.com/post/160970900544/hey-everyone-now-that-i-am-officially-no-longer).


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